Rep. Tom Reed Urges President Trump to Protect U.S. Aviation Jobs

February 21, 2017

Washington, D.C. (February 21, 2017) — Representative Tom Reed (R-NY) this month, at the request of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), sent a letter to President Trump urging him to revoke or suspend the Norwegian Air International (NAI) foreign air carrier permit because it violates an aviation agreement and threatens all U.S. aviation jobs.

“NAI operates a ‘flag of convenience’ business model which circumvents Norwegian labor laws by using a subsidiary company to operate flights to the U.S., a direct violation of the U.S.-E.U. Open Skies Agreement,” writes Rep. Reed. “Given your commitment to protecting American jobs I strongly urge you to revoke or suspend the Norwegian Air International foreign air carrier permit for U.S.-Europe air services.”

Rep. Reed’s letter recognizes that the Open Skies agreement has a clause “specifically negotiated to protect American jobs and American workers, and it was the linchpin to the agreement's approval.” This would also protect jobs currently in place for Norwegian crews based in the U.S. and any future hires.

An early Trump supporter, Rep. Reed’s letter demonstrates the overwhelming bipartisan calls from Congress to President Trump to take action on this issue.

“We thank Congressman Reed for standing up for good American aviation jobs,” said Sara Nelson, AFA International President. “This is a no-brainer for President Trump. NAI is cheating on the U.S.-EU Open Skies trade agreement, putting hundreds of thousands of American jobs at risk, and threatening consumer choice. President Trump must take immediate action to protect American jobs, enforce our trade agreements and stop the ‘flag of convenience’ model from allowing outsourcing in aviation. Good jobs and decent trade now.”

The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 71 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.